The Mantrap is a small pub, but with a huge reach, thanks to internationally renowned author, Alan Warner, who is originally from the Oban area.

The Mantrap name has always stuck in his imagination – “I just thought it was such a great name; when I wrote Morvern Callar, I was determined to use it somewhere. I recall when you went in it, it had that big metal trap hung up on the wall. Which gave the name of the bar a sort of double meaning – a literal and metaphorical mantra. I knew Angie the barman circa 1983. But I would never describe myself as a regular.”

“In my novels, I have taken a lot of liberties, and basically, I used The Mantrap as a name for a geographically fluid place, as it always struck me as an odd combination! Ironically, the original building on the site was once a Temperance Hotel – but there was little temperance on display in my day."

Our guide will help you blend your own gin, using products from Beinn an Tuirc Distillery in Kintyre, which are neatly stored in our bespoke drinks cabinet, made by local craftsman Michael Acey Furniture.